The Ugly Blue Rug
by goldfishlover73
Summary: Kakashi would never let Sasuke take Sakura away. No matter what. Character Death. For the Lj Comm. KakaSaku for their January prompt Edgar Allen Poe's Tell Tale Heart


For the LJ Comm KakaSaku's January Fic Contest "Poe"

The prompt was "The Tell-Tale Heart"

Don't own Naruto or anyone from the series!

III

Kakashi shook his head as he pulled the curtains of his shower back, exiting into the fog infested bathroom. He closed his mismatched eyes, letting the sticky, damp air of the bathroom engulf him as he steadied his beating heart.

_Thumpthumpthumpthump,thumpthumpthump,thumpthump,thump. Thump...Thump...Thump._

He smiled softly as he opened his Sharingan eye, watching himself through the mist in the mirror. He watched as the tomoe's swirled calmly, steadily, with the beat of his heart.

_ThumpThump...ThumpThump...ThumpThump..._

His eyes and body were sore, ragged, demanding he stop, to rest, sleep, but the adrenaline in his heart, in his brain, kept him from sleep.

He watched as the tomoe swirled.

He watched, entranced for a few moments before shaking his head, slipping into his warm cotton pants and pulling his matching mask over his head, pulling it tight over his face. He smiled into the mirror, making it only look like a glazed, mismatched stare. One eye looking bored, the other spinning almost excitedly. Kakashi closed his eyes and left the bathroom, almost feeling the tomoe spin as blood pulsed behind it.

_ThumpThumpThump...ThumpThumpThump..._

He entered his living room, opening his eyes lazily, watching the impectably clean room with his coal black eye, and the actions of six hours earlier with his other.

III

_Kakashi opened the door, smiling widely under his mask. He stepped aside, letting Uchiha Sasuke enter his small apartment._

"_Why did you call me over, Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke was curt, but slightly polite._

_Kakashi shrugged,shaky hands shoved in his pocket as he led the Uchiha into the living room. "Just to talk." He patted the couch, heading towards the kitchen, watching closely as Sasuke took a seat, leering at him. _

"_Talk about what Hatake?" he called after him as Kakashi entered the kitchen._

_Kakashi froze, disappearing in a cloud of smoke as he released the henge, dropping from the ceiling onto the unsuspecting Uchiha, slicing his throat._

"_You can't take Sakura." Kakashi whispered into his ear, Sharingan spinning madly as he felt blood spurt onto his hand. He felt his hands shake, his Sharingan pulse in his head. _

_._

_His fingers tightened around the warm, wet neck, feeling the pulse quicken for a few moments before_

_Thump._

_In a silent wisp of smoke the form under him disappeared._

_His blood surged through his body, feeling his whole body beat in unison. The other man appear two feet away, kunai barely missing Kakashi as it embedded itself in the wall._

"_Sakura?" Kakashi ignored the sound of surprise in the younger man's tone. __Kakashi spun a kunai in his hand, the warm leather of the handle helped calm his beating heart. His one Sharingan spun quickly against ma__n__'s__ two__. He inhaled quickly, throwing a kunai, catching the boy's shoulder, pinning him to the wall._

"_I've seen you." Kakashi whispered, pulling out his jagged tanto. "I've seen your eyes 'watching her.'" he watched Sasuke's eyes narrow, eyeing the tanto as Kakashi spun it in his hand. "You can't fool me. You can't fool me!"_

"_What are you talking about?" Sasuke tried to pull himself free. _

_Kakashi let out a high pitched laugh, "You've trapped her with your goddamn _eyes!"_ Kakashi spun the sword with his right, and threw another kunai with his left, pinning Sasuke's wrist to the opposite side of his body, exposing Sasuke's chest. "You're trying to steal her from me. For years she cried over you, sobbing about how much she _hated_ you. And when she finally, _finally_, came to me, _loved_ me, you took her!" Kakashi held the blade to Sasuke's throat, glowering. The boy showed no fear of the jagged __blade at his throat. Kakashi pressed it the boy's throat, right below his adams apple."You are using the Mangekyo on her. To make her love you again."_

"_What are you talking about? She's helping me get my sight back!" Sasuke pulled on his wrist, wincing as it cut deeper into his skin, blood oozing out of the wound. Sasuke's eyes widened. "Kakashi!You know what the Sharingan does to your eyes-What-?"_

_Kakashi watched a small pool of blood form on the end of the sword. His eye spun quickly, transfixed on the blood staining the tip of the jagged sword. "All she talks about is you now. Even after I make her scream my name in passion." he whispered softly, watching the blood start to drip slowly off the sword. "It's _you_."_

"_What-what did you do to me?" Sasuke slurred._

"_Poison." Kakashi said lightly, not pulling his eyes away from the dripping blood. "It won't kill you. But it will keep you from fighting back."_

_Drip. Drip._

"_Kakashi, I'm not trying to steal her. She's not in love with-"_

_Drip._

_Kakashi pushed the sword in more. _

_DripDripDripDrip._

"_You're fooling her with your eyes, Uchiha. And I can't have you do that." Kakashi finally looked up, pulling his mask down, revealing his manic smile to the younger boy. _

"_Kakashi, stop!" Sasuke pleaded._

_Kakashi laughed, pushing the sword through, until it pierced the wall._

III

Kakashi moved through his living room, feeling the now smooth walls, watching it through his Sharingan eye. He checked over every inch of the room, searching, seeking for some shred of evidence, one drop of _his _blood. It took hour and a half hours to clean up the mess. Re-plastering, repainting and scrubbing the blood out of the walls and carpet. It wasn't until after getting Pakkun to approve his work before he set off to shower.

"_Sakura-san must have been quite feisty today, eh Kakashi_?"

_Sakura_...Kakashi looked over to the smoothed out wall, patting it affectionately before punching, watching his hand break through the new slathered plaster. _I won't lose you to him. Not now. _Kakashi pulled his hand out, examining the small white speckles that littered his hand. He felt his heart beat loudly.

_._

Kakashi now stood grinning widely behind the mask. He stared down at the rug on the floor.

A rug _she_ had bought him two years previous. A rug she bought because he _needed _more in his apartment dingy little apartment than bare white walls and brown hardwood. Something with _color_. It was a hideous neon blue shag rug. He detested the color almost as much as the rug, but that's 'what you got for not telling me what you'd like!' He now smiled fondly at the rug, running his bare toes through the soft shag. It was on this rug that he first made love to her. Underneath the hideous rug, beneath the floorboards, lay the remains of Uchiha Sasuke. A bloody, mangled heap tossed haphazardly into a black garbage bag, laid gently into the ready made shaft. It was the perfect place. Where to better hide the one thing that could steal his Sakura than the first gift she had given him?

He looked around the small room, taking note of all the small things that reminded him of her: the bookshelf she had thrown all his _Icha Icha's_, the coffee table riddled with water rings with the set of coasters, one missing from the set, sitting on the table. _That one was Sakura's_. He thought giddily, picking it up, examining it before putting it back on the table, exactly where it was. He looked around the room. Pictures now riddled the wall thanks to her. Pictures of his ninken, pieces Sai had done, a picture of his new team 7, team Yamato, and a picture of Sakura and himself, at Ichiraku's, courtesy of Naruto.

He straightened the team 7 picture. "Perfect." he smiled.

Picking up an Icha Icha off the bookshelf. And fell down on the couch. He immerced himself in the book, listening to the words come to life in his head, instead of the noise of Sasuke's ragged breathing. But his own heart beat could not be drown out.

_ThumpThump...ThumpThump...ThumpThump..._

_Knock! Knock! Knock!_

Kakashi looked up. "Sakura?" he whispered, ignoring the steady increase of his heart's rate.

_.Thump._

He walked casually to the door, ignoring the sense of deja vu as he cracked the door open.

_._

"Tsunade-sama." he said calmly.

She gave him a quick nod, "Kakashi, I was wondering if you had seen Sasuke? He didn't show up this morning for a mission briefing."

Kakashi opened the door wider, scratching his head, "I haven't seen him since yesterday. We trained in the morning, and he went after Sakura to the hospital, and I came home. Been here since."

"He didn't come _after_ me, Kakashi. He _followed_."

_ThumpThump...Thump. ThumpThump. _

"Ah, Sakura-chan, I didn't see you there."

"We have-had a mission today. We were concerned. We thought maybe he came by to see you or something."

He gave a small eye crease. "I haven't seen him."

Butterflies exploded when he watched Sakura give him a small smile. _A smile only for me_.

"Aren't you going to invite us in, Kakashi-sensei?"

He scowled under his mask. "Where did you come from, Naruto." he stepped aside for the blond to come bounding in.

"I was here the whole time! You were just too busy ogling Sakura-chan to notice!"

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "And I thought you were busy looking for Sasuke-kun."

"We _have_ been looking! All morning! Three hours!"

"Naruto! You're being loud again!" Sakura groaned as she walked passed the boys. Kakashi watched her as she waltzed into his kitchen, dancing to cabinets, collecting cups and a tea kettle. "You're almost out of tea Kakashi!"

He closed the door behind the Hokage as following them into the living room, sitting on the window sill next to the bookcase.

As Sakura reentered, she handed Tsunade the first cup of tea, then Naruto, then Kakashi, who smiled warmly as their fingers brushed.

Tsunade sighed, "Where the hell could that Uchiha have gone?" Kakashi shrugged, taking a sip of tea.

"Maybe we're not looking hard enough, Tsunade-baa-chan."

"Did we check the whole Uchiha compound? He likes to take walks through the streets." Sakura said thoughtfully.

"Not for three hours."

"Kakashi's right, and besides! We had a mission today!"

There was a heavy silence. Kakashi smiled widely behind his mask, taking a sip.

.ThumpThump.

Kakashi stood straighter, but brought no attention to himself. It was a small thump, quite thump, much softer than his own.

.ThumpThump. _What the hell?_

_,ThumpThumpThump._

"You don't think he-?" Sakura ventured.

.ThumpThump!

_It's so loud, but...no one is saying anything_. Kakashi took a shaky sip of tea.

.ThumpThump.

"No! He wouldn't leave!"

ThumpThump!ThumpThump!

Kakashi pried his left eye open, which spun frantcally, searching for the noise. His eye became transfixed on the blue rug.

"Now, Naruto, you can't no for sure."  
"He wouldn't leave! Besides! Sakura was fixing his sight! You know how bad it was getting!"

"Kakashi?" her voice was small, but overcame the loud thumping, even the louder beating of his own heart. He looked over to Sakura and saw everyone else was staring at him. He closed his left eye, scratching his cheek.

"Sorry. I was only thinking."

Sakura smiled, stepping over to him, pulling him in a tight hug. "I know you're worried. We all are."

He returned the hug, but stared down at the rug.

ThumpThump!ThumpThump!ThumpThump!

_Of course! But how? He's dead! He can't come back! He can't! The beating-the heart!_ Kakashi pulled Sakura in closer, burying his face in her hair.

"Do you want me to help?" he whispered, inhaling deeply.

She gripped his shirtless back. "Please?"

He kissed the top of her head, leaving the room, leaving the thumping. He stood in the silence of his own room, hearing only his heavy breathing and his own beating heart.

.

He listened closely for their conversation in the other room.

"Naruto! You have to reason with us! The possiblility that he left is great!"

"But Baa-chan! He wouldn't just leave!"

"Naruto!"

_The-the beating-Perhaps. Perhaps it's all in my head. Perhaps they can't hear it...Maybe- _He pulled a shirt over his head. Situating his mask. He stared at the Tanto who's jagged edge still held the other man's blood. _That's it. It's all in my head. The thumping isn't real. Sasuke-he's-he's not real anymore. She's-She's safe._

He smiled widely behind his mask as he grabbed his forehead protector and exited the room. He straightend as he marched into the living room. "If he's not in the village, then he's still in the fire country. He might have just gone to clear is head for all we know." he spoke in his commanding voice, tying the band around his spinning eye. He watched as the three others watched him. He swiped an Icha Icha off the bookshelf as he brushed past them. "There's a chance we could still catch him if we hurry and split up."

He looked back to the three people who now stood in his living room. He saw Naruto cheer silently, Tsunade give him a smirk and Sakura, standing on top of the blue shag rug, give him a knowing smile. "Let's go!" Naruto yelled, running past. The women followed shortly after him. Kakashi gave one more look around the room. His eyes closing in on the rug.

.

He grinned widely, leaving his apartment, locking the door behind him.

"Kakashi?" Sakura whispered as they headed towards the front gate. "Why is there a hole in the wall?"

ThumpThump.


End file.
